A US$350 million project that will nearly double the capacity of the New York Container Terminal (NYCT) in Mariners Harbour and create more than 300 full-time jobs has put the port on a collision course with environmentalists.

         The project will require taking a slice of a contaminated but ecologically dynamic tidal wetland, angering environmentalists and pitting them against those who see the expansion as a needed economic shot in the arm, the Staten Island Advance reported.